Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Apologies for lack of posts. Still dealing with nerve pain from case of shingles down right arm and hand last February. Much better understanding of what it means to be only left handed. :-)
http://www.everydayhealth.com/shingles/coping-with-pain.aspx

That said I would like to share a post on Google+ by Alvin Remmers about SpaceX Dragon docking at the ISS.
- LRK -

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SpaceX Dragon Docks at International Space Station (Videos)
SpaceX Dragon successfully berthed at the International Space Station Wednesday morning and station crew entered the capsule in the early afternoon.
See the videos >> http://moonandback.com/?p=27059
(Photo) Image grab from NASA TV shows the Canada Arm grappling Dragon as the SpaceX capsule comes within 32 feet of the Space Station.
Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide, with the assistance of Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams, captured the commercial cargo ship with the Canadian Space Agency-provided robotic arm at 6:56 a.m. as the spacecraft flew within about 32 feet of the orbiting complex. - Image credit: NASA TV

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Take a look at the Moon and Back website for videos as suggested.
- LRK -

----------------------------http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
Dragon Overview
Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, the Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members.
In May 2012, SpaceX made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments -- the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency -- had achieved this challenging technical feat.
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http://www.nasa.gov/missions/index.html
Featured Missions
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9
Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellants. The Falcon 9 can lift payloads of 13,150 kilograms (29,000 lb) to low Earth orbit, and 4,850 kilograms (10,700 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit, which places the Falcon 9 design in the medium-lift range of launch systems.
The first Falcon 9 flight was launched, after several delays, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 4, 2010, at 2:45 pm EDT (19:45 UTC) with a successful orbital insertion.[5]
The second launch of the Falcon 9, and the first of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop it, occurred at 10:43 EST (15:43 UTC) on December 8, 2010, from Cape Canaveral.[6] The Dragon spacecraft completed two orbits, then splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.[7]
The Falcon 9 and Dragon combination won a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract from NASA to resupply the International Space Station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station launched on October 7, 2012.
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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